Aztlanolagus revisited and the dynamic evolution of Pliopentalagus (Leporidae, Lagomorpha) in the Holarctic region
| Pages | 229–238 |
|---|---|
| DOI | 10.37520/fi.2024.018 |
| Keywords | Pliopentalagus, Aztlanolagus, Pentalagus, Leporidae, evolution, Holarctic region |
| Type of Article | Peer-reviewed |
| Citation | TOMIDA, Yukimitsu, JIN, Chang-Zhu, WINKLER, Alisa J. a OSHIMA, Mitsuharu. Aztlanolagus revisited and the dynamic evolution of Pliopentalagus (Leporidae, Lagomorpha) in the Holarctic region. Fossil Imprint / Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae, Series B – Historia Naturalis. Prague: National Museum, 2024, 80(2), 229–238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/fi.2024.018. ISSN 2533-4050 (tisk), 2533-4069 (online). Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/fossil-imprint-acta-musei-nationalis-pragae-series-b-historia-naturalis/80-2/aztlanolagus-revisited-and-the-dynamic-evolution-of-pliopentalagus-leporidae-lagomorpha-in-the-holarctic-region |
The genus Aztlanolagus from North America is synonymized with Pliopentalagus based on similar morphology of dental characters including (1) general form of five reentrant angles and outline of p3, (2) an enamel lake at the position of PIR, (3) general form of enamel crenulations of the anterior wall of the talonid on p4–m2, and (4) an AER on p4–m2 on some specimens. However, the species A. agilis is valid because of its much smaller size. The general morphology and size of this species, transferred to Pliopentalagus, did not change for about the last 2.5 million years. Three Asiatic species of Pliopentalagus (Pl. huainanensis, Pl. dajushanensis, and Pl. anhuiensis, from geologically older to younger) were described from the latest Miocene (ca. 6 Ma) to Late Pliocene (ca. 3 Ma) at Dajushan in Anhui Province, China. These taxa represent a gradually evolving lineage, an example of phyletic gradualism. Pliopentalagus okuyamai was recently described based on a fragmentary skull with upper dentition from ca. 3.5 Ma deposits in Japan and represents a possible ancestral form of the living type species, Pentalagus furnessi. Fossil Pliopentalagus dietrichi is known from the Early Pliocene in Europe and likely evolved from Chinese Pl. dajushanensis. However, Pl. dietrichi lacks an enamel lake on p3 and an AER on p4–m2; this assumes that the ancestral population dispersing to Europe probably did not have a gene controlling the appearance of an enamel lake on p3 and an AER on p4–m2. Thus, Pliopentalagus diversified and dispersed widely across the Holarctic region over the last 6 million years, disappeared near the end of the Pleistocene, and left a single descendant, Pentalagus furnessi in Japan.
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